Effects of mechanical vibration on filling and solidification behavior, microstructure and performance of Al/Mg bimetal by lost foam compound casting

Al/Mg bimetal was prepared by lost foam solid-liquid compound casting,and the effects of mechanical vibration on the filling and solidification behavior,microstructure and performance of the bimetal were investigated.Results show that the mechanical vibration has a remarkable influence on the filling and solidification processes.It is found that after mechanical vibration,the filling rate increases and the filling rate at different times is more uniform than that without vibration.In addition,the mechanical vibration also increases the wettability between liquid AZ91D and A356 inlays.The mechanical vibration reduces the horizontal and vertical temperature gradient of the casting and makes the temperature distribution of the whole casting more uniform.Compared to the Al/Mg bimetal without vibration,the shear strength is improved by 39.76%after the mechanical vibration is applied,due to the decrease of the inclusions and Al_(12)Mg_(17) dendrites,and the refinement and uniform distribution of the Mg_(2)Si particles in the interface of the Al/Mg bimetal.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy cast by metal mould and lost foam casting

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-10.1Gd-3.74Y-0.25Zr （mass fraction, %） alloy （GW104 alloy） cast by metal mould casting （MMC） and lost foam casting （LFC） were evaluated, respectively. It is revealed that different forming modes do not influence the phase composition of as-cast alloy. In the as-cast specimens, the microstructures are similar and composed of α-Mg solid solution, eutectic compound of α-Mg＋Mg 24 （Gd, Y） 5 and cuboid-shaped Mg 5 （Gd, Y） phase; whereas the average grain size of the alloy produced by metal mould casting is smaller than that by lost foam casting. The eutectic compound of the alloy is completely dissolved after solution treatment at 525 ℃for 6 h, while the Mg 5 （Gd, Y） phase still exists after solution treatment. After peak-ageing, the lost foam cast alloy exhibits the maximum ultimate tensile strength of 285 MPa, and metal mould cast specimen 325 MPa at room temperature, while the tensile yield strengths of them are comparable. It can be concluded that GW104 alloy cast by lost foam casting possesses similar microstructure and evidently lower mechanical strength compared with metal mould cast alloy, due to slow solidification rate and proneness to form shrinkage porosities during lost foam casting process.

Status quo and development trend of lost foam casting technology

Lost foam casting(LFC)technology has been widely applied to cast iron and cast steel.However,the development of LFC for Al and Mg alloys was relatively slower than that for cast iron and cast steel.The application of LFC to Al and Mg alloys needs more effort,especially in China.In this paper,the development history of LFC is reviewed,and the application situations of LFC to Al and Mg alloys are mainly discussed.Meanwhile,the key problems of LFC for Al and Mg alloys are also pointed out.Finally,the prospects for LFC technology are discussed,and some special new LFC technologies are introduced for casting Al and Mg alloys.In future,the development trends of green LFC technology mainly focus on the special new LFC methods,metal material,coating,heat treatment,new foam materials as well as purification technology of tail gas,etc.

Effect of vibration frequency on primary phase and properties of grey cast iron fabricated by lost foam casting

The properties of gray cast iron(GCI)are affected by density of matrix,size of flake graphite and primary austenite.In this paper,the Y-type specimen of GCI was prepared by lost foam casting(LFC)with and without vibration,and the influence of vibration frequency on the density of matrix,size of primary phase,and properties of the GCI was studied.The results show that the length of the flake graphite and the size of the primary austenite in GCI firstly decrease and then increase with the increase of the vibration frequency.With a vibration frequency of 35 Hz,the length of the flake graphite is the shortest,the primary austenite is the finest and the density of the matrix is the highest.In addition,the tensile strength,elongation and hardness of the GCI firstly increase and then decrease with the increase of the vibration frequency,due to the refinement of the primary phase and the increase of the matrix density.In order to analyze the refinement mechanism of the primary phase of the GCI fabricated by the LFC with vibration,the solidification temperature fields of the GCI fabricated by the LFC with the vibration frequency of 0 and 35 Hz were measured.The results show that the vibration reduces the eutectic point of the GCI and increases the supercooling degree during the eutectic transformation.As a result,the length of the flake graphite and the size of the primary austenite in GCI fabricated by LFC with the vibration frequency of 35 Hz decrease.

Density and Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Lost Foam Casting by Pressurization during Solidification

Porosity is thought to be severe in aluminum alloy castings produced by lost foam process due to the pyrolysis of the polystyrene foam pattern during pouring, which results in detrimental effect in mechanical property. The slow solidification rate promotes the formation of gassing pin holes, and relative weakness of the thermal gradients can cause micro-shrinkage if the outline of the part complicates feeding in the lost foam casting. One of the methods to eliminate the porosity is to apply high pressure to the molten metal like an isostatic forging during solidification. Fundamental experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of the external pressure on the porosity and mechanical properties of A356.2 alloy bar in the lost foam casting. Solidification time and porosity decreased with increasing the applied pressure during solidification. Applying external pressure was effective in decreasing the porosity and increasing the elongation of the lost foam casting.

Microstructural evolution of Mg9AlZnY alloy with vibration in lost foam casting during semi-solid isothermal heat treatment

The nearly equiaxed grains of Mg9AlZnY alloy were obtained by vibrating solidification in lost foam casting(LFC) and the microstructure of Mg9AlZnY alloy was analyzed.On this basis,the morphology and size of α-Mg grains fabricated by semi-solid isothermal heat treatment(SSIT) at 530 ℃ and 570 ℃ holding different time were studied.The results show that the main constituent phases of Mg9AlZnY alloy are α-Mg,β-Mg17Al12 and Al2Y,and the Y can greatly refine α-Mg grains.The distribution of α-Mg grains equivalent diameters between 20 and 100 μm is up to 87%,and the average roundness of α-Mg grains reaches 1.37 in the specimen obtained at 570 ℃ and holding time 60 min.According to the analysis of solidification kinetics and thermodynamic,binary eutectic with low melting point melts firstly on SSIT process.As the liquid fraction increases with the solute diffusibility,both of the shape and size of α-Mg grains change ceaselessly.When the liquid fraction reaches equilibrium,the α-Mg grains are gradually spheroidized under the interfacial tension,and then the α-Mg grains begin to combine and grow.Evolution of α-Mg dendritic grains on SSIT process is obviously different from that of equiaxed grains.

Investigation of carbon contamination in lost foam castings of low carbon steel

Lost foam casting(LFC) process is a special casting method in which polymeric foam patterns with refractory coatings are utilized as a mould component. In this work, four types of foam: expandable polyethylene(EPE), expandable polypropylene(EPP) and expandable polystyrene(EPS) foams with two different densities were employed as pattern materials. LFC and conventional green sand mould casting methods were used to cast a low carbon steel, A216 Grade WCB. Both casting processes were carried out at 1,580 °C. Chemical analysis results showed that the carbon contamination level was high and was influenced by pattern type. Metallographic investigations revealed a significant increase in the percentage of pearlite phase in all LFC samples. Densities of manufactured samples were calculated in order to evaluate porosity of the products. It was determined that the densities of the LFC samples were lower than the green sand mould cast reference sample(RS). Vickers hardness tests were also carried out and increments in hardness values with increased carbon content was observed.

High Cr white cast iron/carbon steel bimetal liner by lost foam casting with liquid-liquid composite process

Liners in wet ball mill for mineral processing industry must bear abrasive wear and corrosive wear, and consequently, the service life of the liner made from traditional materials, such as Hadfield steel and alloyed steels, is typically less than ten months. Bimetal liner, made from high Cr white cast iron and carbon steel, has been successfully developed by using liquid-liquid composite lost foam casting process. The microstructure and interface of the composite were analyzed using optical microscope, SEM, EDX and XRD. Micrographs indicate that the boundary of bimetal combination regions is staggered like dogtooth, two liquid metals are not mixed, and the interface presents excellent metallurgical bonding state. After heat treatment, the composite liner specimens have shown excellent properties, including hardness 〉 61 HRC, fracture toughness ak 〉16.5 J.cm2 and bending strength 〉1,600 MPa. Wear comparison was made between the bimetal composite liner and alloyed steel liner in an industrial hematite ball mill of WISCO, and the results of eight-month test in wet grinding environment have proved that the service life of the bimetal composite liner is three times as long as that of the alloyed steel liner.

Effect of vibration frequency on microstructure and performance of high chromium cast iron prepared by lost foam casting

In the present research, high chromium cast irons(HCCIs) were prepared using the lost foam casting(LFC) process. To improve the wear resistance of the high chromium cast irons(HCCIs), mechanical vibration was employed during the solidification of the HCCIs. The effects of vibration frequency on the microstructure and performance of the HCCIs under as-cast, as-quenched and as-tempered conditions were investigated. The results indicated that the microstructures of the LFC-produced HCCIs were refined due to the introduction of mechanical vibration, and the hardness was improved compared to that of the alloy without vibration. However, only a slight improvement in hardness was found in spite of the increase of vibration frequency. In contrast, the impact toughness of the as-tempered HCCIs increased with an increase in the vibration frequency. In addition, the wear resistance of the HCCIs was improved as a result of the introduction of vibration and increased with an increase in the vibration frequency.

Effect of pattern coating thickness on characteristics of lost foam Al-Si-Cu alloy casting

An experimental study on lost foam casting of an Al-Si-Cu alloy was conducted. The main objective was to study the effect of pattern coating thickness on casting imperfection and porosity percentage as well as eutectic silicon spacing of the alloy. The results showed that increasing slurry viscosity and flask dipping time influenced the casting integrity and microstructural characteristics. It was found that thinner pattern coating produced improved mould filling, refined microstructure and higher quality castings containing less porosity.

Study on typical hole defects in AZ91D magnesium alloy prepared by low pressure lost foam casting

The hole defects can easily occur in magnesium alloy castings that are prepared by low pressure lost foam casting(LP-LFC)process when the process parameters such as vacuum,pouring temperature and f illing velocity are not properly selected.In this study,the forming mechanism of the hole defects in AZ91D magnesium castings by LP-LFC process was investigated.The shape,location and surface appearance of the hole defects were observed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy,and the chemical composition on the surface of the holes was analyzed using energy spectrometer.The result indicates that there are two types of hole defects,i.e.,the pyrolysis products related hole defects,including concentrative hole and blow hole defects,and slag related hole defects.The concentrative hole and the blow-hole defects were formed either by the liquidEPS degradation products entrapped in the molten metal under the condition that the pouring temperature is equal to or lower than 730℃,or by the hindered transport of EPS pyrolysis products.Some irregular shape hole defects were caused by slag or by coating slough entrapment when the pouring temperature is equal to 750℃and the f illing velocity is equal to or greater than 100 mm·s-1.To reduce or eliminate the hole defects,the vacuum and f illing velocity must be properly chosen to ensure that the metal front prof ile exhibits convex shape and in laminar current state,and the pouring temperature should be just high enough to ensure that the molten melt has adequate heat energy to complete the foam pyrolysis and to fully occupy the mould.For AZ91D magnesium castings in this study,the parameters should be 730℃pouring temperature,0.02-0.03 MPa vacuum and 80mm·s-1f illing velocity.

Evaluation of significant manufacturing parameters in lost foam casting of thin-wall Al-Si-Cu alloy using full factorial design of experiment

Controlling process parameters of lost foam casting （LFC） enables this process to produce defect-free complex shape castings. An experimental investigation on lost foam casting of an A1-Si-Cu cast alloy was carried out. The effects of pouting temperature, slurry viscosity, vibration time and sand size on surface finish, shrinkage porosity and eutectic silicon spacing of thin-wall casting were investigated. A full two-level factorial design of experimental technique was used to identify the significant manufacturing factors affecting the properties of casting. Pouring temperature was found as the most significant factor affecting A1-Si-Cu lost foam casting quality. It was shown that flask vibration time interacted with pouring temperature influenced euteetic silicon spacing and porosity percentage significantly. The results also revealed that the surface quality of the samples cast in fine sand moulds at higher pouring temperatures was almost unchanged, while those cast in coarse sand moulds possessed lower surface qualities. Furthermore, variation in slurry viscosity showed no significant effect on the evaluated properties compared to other parameters.

A study on the effect of coating's sorption capacity on the porosity in lost foam aluminum alloy casting

Effects of coating constituent, coating density, coating layer thickness and temperature on coating sorption capacity for polystyrene decomposition products have been studied systematically. It has been found that the effect of attapulgite clay on sorption capacity is the largest among coating constituents. The sorption capacity of the coating with 2% attapulgite clay is elevated by 81%. The relationship between casting porosity and coating sorption capacity has been studied. It has been pointed out that higher coating sorption capacity for polystyrene decomposition products is helpful to decrease the casting porosity. Results also show that the sorption capacity of self-developed HW-1 coating for polystyrene decomposition products is as good as that of Ashland coating from America.

Modeling of Mold Filling and Solidification in Lost Foam Casting

Based on the characteristics of the lost foam casting (LFC) and the artificial neural network technique, a mathematical model for the simulation of the melt-pattern interface movement during the mold filling of LFC has been proposed and experimentally verified. The simulation results are consistent with the experiments in both the shapes of melt front and filling sequences. According to the calculated interface locations, the fluid flow and the temperature distributions during the mold filling and solidification processes were calculated, and the shrinkage defect of a lost foam ductile iron casting was predicted by considering the mold wall movement in LFC. The simulation method was applied to optimize the casting design of lost foam ductile iron castings. It is shown that the model can be used for the defects prediction and for casting design optimization in the practical LFC production.

Numerical simulation and analysis of mould filling process in lost foam casting

In lost foam casting(LFC)the foam pattern is the key criterion,and the filling process is crucialto ensure the high quality of the foam pattern.Filling which lacks uniformity and denseness will cause variousdefects and affect the surface quality of the casting.The influential factors of the filling process are realized in thisresearch.Optimization of the filling process,enhancement of efficiency,decrease of waste,etc.,are obtained bythe numerical simulation of the filling process using a computer.The equations governing the dense gas-solid two-phase flow are established,and the physical significanceof each equation is discussed.The Euler/Lagrange numerical model is used to simulate the fluid dynamiccharacteristics of the dense two-phase flow during the mould filling process in lost foam casting.The experimentsand numerical results showed that this method can be a very promising tool in the mould filling simulation of beads’movement.

Heat transfer characteristics of lost foam casting process of magnesium alloy

Effects of vacuum, pouring temperature and pattern thickness on the heat transfer of magnesium alloy lost foam casting(LFC) process were explored. The results indicate that without vacuum a positive thermal gradient from the gate to the end of the casting was formed immediately after the mold filling. The average temperature of the casting, the temperature gradient and solidification times increase significantly with pouring temperature and pattern thickness. Vacuum plays a quite different role in the heat transfer during mould filling and solidification periods: it significantly increases the cooling rate of the filling melt, but decreases the cooling rate of the casting during solidification period. The temperature of the liquid metal drops sharply and varies greatly with no apparent mode in the casting after the mold filling. The amplitude of temperature fluctuations in the casting increases with vacuum, pouring temperature and pattern thickness. The average temperature increases with pouring temperature and pattern thickness, but less rapidly than that without vacuum. The effect of vacuum on the solidification times of castings is found to depend on pouring temperature, vacuum makes solidification times increase greatly at high pouring temperature, while decreases slightly at low pouring temperature.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of magnesium alloy prepared by lost foam casting

The microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ91 alloy prepared by lost foam casting（LFC） and various heat treatments have been investigated. The microstructure of the AZ91 alloy via LFC consists of dominant α-Mg and β-Mg17Al12 as well as a new phase Al32Mn25 with size of about 550 μm, which has not been detected in AZ91 alloy prepared by other casting processes. The tests demonstrate that the as-cast mechanical properties are higher than those of sand gravity casting because of chilling and cushioning effect of foam pattern during the mould filling. The solution kinetics and the aging processes at different temperatures were also investigated by hardness and electrical resistivity measurements. The kinetics of aging are faster at the high temperature due to enhanced diffusion of atoms in the matrix, so the hardness peak at 380 ℃ occurs after 10 h; while at the lower aging temperature（150 ℃）, the peak is not reached in the time（24 h） considered.

Effect of manganese on the ferrum phases of B319 aluminum alloy in lost foam casting

By using ICP spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, X-ray diffraction, SEM and microscope analysis, the effects of Mn on the structure of B319 aluminum alloy are studied. The results show that without the addition of Mn, there are coral-like Al_2Cu phase and needle-like β-Fe (Al_5FeSi)in the structure of casting with lost foam casting (LFC). Precipitation of Al_2Cu can take place along the long sides of the β needles. Under the rapid cooling rates, such as ones in metallic mold, the Fe phase appears in the form of Chinese script α-Fe. With the addition of Mn, there are Chinese script α-Fe phases(Al_(15) (Mn, Fe)_3Si_2)in the structure of LFC casting. When Fe/Mn≤1.5, the needle-like β-Fe phases transform to Chinese script α-Fe completely. With the decrease of Fe/Mn ratio, the tensile strength σ_b and elongation δ increase, especially the elongation δ increases greatly. When Fe/Mn ratio decreases from 2.5 to 1, the δ increases from 1.2% to 1.9% by 58%.

Porosity of aluminum alloy in lost foam casting process

The effects of modification, grain refinement, polystyrene pattern, pouring temperature and reduced pressure degree on aluminum alloy porosity in lost foam casting (LFC) process were studied. The results show that the solidification rate of LFC process is slower than that of resin sand process or clay sand process. The effect of modification and grain refinement on the aluminum alloy casting density in LFC is greater than that on resin sand process. Through α Al phase refinement process with 0.2%Ti for aluminum melt, the subversive effect of Sr modification in LFC process is decreased greatly, and the aluminum casting density in LFC process is nearly equal to that in resin sand process. To decrease the porosity of aluminum castings in LFC process, lower density of polystyrene pattern, higher pouring temperature (760～780 ℃) and lower reduced pressure degree (≤20 kPa) should be applied.[

Recent Development of Lost Foam Casting Technology Comment on the 7th Chinese Lost Foam Casting Symposium

The 7th Chinese Lost Foam Casting (LFC) Symposium & the 1st LFC Technology Exposition were held on May 21-23 at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), and the conference theme was "Recent development of lost foam casting technology". Prof. TAO Jie, the Executive Chairman of the conference and the Vice Director of LFC Committee of Foundry Institution of Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society(FICMES), chaired the inauguration. Prof. NIE Hong, the Vice President of NUAA, represented the host address and expressed welcome and gratitude to all the guests from home and abroad. He said the development of the technologies, environmental protection and the trade globalization require to continually improve the performance of products, and accurately select proper material and the manufacturing technology. As the revolutionary technology in casting development history, LFC technology has brought a brand-new change for the machine design and casting production. He hoped the conference would be beneficial to the development of Chinese LFC technololy and wished the symposium a complete success! Prof. YE Sheng-ping, the Executive Chairman of the conference and the Director of LFC Committee of FICMES, gave the opening address and read out the congratulations of F. J. Woestmann (Director of Germany LFC Technology Council), Wolfgang (General Manager of Storopack Hans Reichenecker Group), G Sedlmair Heiko (LFC project director of Teubert Maschinenbau GmbH), etc. Patrice Juton, the Sale Manager of Storopack Group, gave a speech on behalf of the conference delegates.